The Three Biggest Fears Holding Back Your New Year’s Reinvention… And How To Move Past Them – Young Starters

by Becca Pearce, author of “You don’t have to perform to be loved“

Every year in January, millions of people promise themselves that this will be the year they finally make a change.

They will leave the job that exhausts them.

They will finally make the change they have been thinking about for years. They will begin to live a life that feels more honest – and more their own.

And yet most of those resolutions quietly disappear in February.

After years of working as a Personal Executive Coach, who reinvented myself after a very public professional failure and recovery from a brain tumor, I’ve learned something that surprises people: the biggest obstacle to change isn’t discipline, tenacity, or even opportunity.

It’s fear.

Not dramatic, paralyzing fear… but subtle, rational-sounding fear that our brains are feeding us in ways that keep us trapped in lives that no longer work.

These are the three fears I see most often, and how to move past each one.

1. Fear of uncertainty.

It is very common to hear people say, “I don’t like change.” And the people you know who say that may think it’s true. But the truth is that people are much more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. We have the ability to adapt to almost anything.

What people really fear is uncertainty. They fear not knowing what comes next.

Uncertainty triggers the brain’s threat response. Even if your current situation is not satisfying, it is familiar – and familiarity feels safer than the unknown. So we sit there and tell ourselves we need a clearer plan, more confidence, or perfect timing.

How to get past it:
Start giving yourself some structure around your future. If it’s hard to identify what you want, start with what you want not want to. Your current situation is usually the clearest clue.

Ask yourself: What no longer works and why? By naming this, you reduce uncertainty and make the change feel more manageable.

2. Fear of disrupting social and emotional bonds.

Admitting that you are unhappy and/or want something new can feel like a social risk.

When you’ve spent years building an identity that others admire, admitting dissatisfaction can feel like a betrayal of the version of you they’ve come to expect. So stay quiet. You tell yourself to be grateful for what you have, that you ‘should’ be happy, because you worry about what others will think if you walk away from this.

How to get past it:
Stop evaluating your life based on the expectations of others.

Give yourself permission to say out loud what isn’t working. Start with one safe conversation with the person you trust most and be vulnerable. Tell them what you have avoided admitting out loud. Not to ask permission, but to stop carrying it alone and open the door to the support you need.

3. Fear of financial insecurity.

The fear of money traps more people than any other fear.

People tend to assume that reinvention means erasing everything they’ve built: our title, our expertise, our financial security. But reinvention doesn’t mean starting from scratch, no matter how many times your brain tells you you’re going broke. Stop assuming that you “have” to make what you make today. Instead, you need to delve into your actual financial situation.

How to get past it:
Take the time to really understand your finances. Your brain is focused on keeping you safe and will always side with fear; data interrupts that fear and replaces it with clarity.

Start by simply looking at what you earn and what you spend. Understand where your money goes and what is discretionary. This knowledge will change your perception of what is possible in the future.

Reinvention starts with small changes

Reinvention starts with a calm decision to no longer let your fears hold you back. When you take small steps – clarifying what isn’t working, speaking the truth out loud, and understanding your financial reality – change becomes less intimidating and much more possible.

Becca Pearce is a Personal Executive Coach and the Amazon Best Selling Author of the book “You Don’t Have to Perform to Be Loved: Escape the Lies You’ve Been Sold to Design the Life You Want“She helps highly successful people change their trajectory, from lives driven by titles and external expectations to lives based on clarity, fulfillment and choice.

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